11/14/2016
Powell (Josephine) delivers a well-researched novel in verse, set over 15 years, about Mildred and Richard Loving, the interracial couple whose marriage led to the United States Supreme Court decision to overturn Virginia’s anti-miscegenation statute. Amid photographs, interludes that touch on relevant topics (school segregation, the Freedom Riders, etc.), and Strickland’s editorial-style two-color artwork, Powell explores the personal and emotional story of a young couple whose only desire is to raise a healthy and happy family in the state where they were both born. Powell’s verse alternates between Mildred and Richard’s perspectives, concisely revealing their fears and mutual dedication, particularly after Mildred becomes pregnant, they marry, and are arrested (“From high school/ to wedding/ to prison./ After two days/ my mama comes to visit./ I try not to cry, but I cry real easy/ these days”). This is an excellent starter book for those interested in learning the basics of the civil rights movement as Powell thoughtfully traces the events leading up to the Lovings’ case. Ages 12–up. Agent: Anna Olswanger, Olswanger Literary. (Jan.)
"Presented through the alternating voices of Mildred and Richard Loving, the reader enters the lives of two people in a tight-knit community who fall in love and are forced to leave the world they have known. We grow up with them and understand their quiet strength. Patricia Hruby Powell sets the Loving's story within the historical context of the Civil Rights Movement thereby allowing readers to gain a greater understanding of the fight for equal rights, at both the personal and societal level." -Jennifer Kelley Reed, Teacher Librarian and blogger at Reederama
"Presented through the alternating voices of Mildred and Richard Loving, the reader enters the lives of two people in a tight-knit community who fall in love and are forced to leave the world they have known. We grow up with them and understand their quiet strength. Patricia Hruby Powell sets the Loving's story within the historical context of the Civil Rights Movement thereby allowing readers to gain a greater understanding of the fight for equal rights, at both the personal and societal level." -Jennifer Kelley Reed, Teacher Librarian and blogger at Reederama
"Compelling and heartrending, this true story personalizes the civil rights movement."-Common Sense Media
"Compelling and heartrending, this true story personalizes the civil rights movement."-Common Sense Media
"Fine, dramatic storytelling in a memorable verse format."-Booklist, starred review
"Fine, dramatic storytelling in a memorable verse format."-Booklist, starred review
"An impressive level of detail, and vivid depiction of the social environment."-The Horn Book Magazine
"An impressive level of detail, and vivid depiction of the social environment."-The Horn Book Magazine
"Offers insights into the couple who never imagined they would make civil-rights history."-Austin American Statesman
"Offers insights into the couple who never imagined they would make civil-rights history."-Austin American Statesman
"Skillful storytelling mixed with the occasional illustration and documents transports readers into Mildred and Richard Love's lives in this must-read, exceptional book based on their true story."-Imagination Soup
"Skillful storytelling mixed with the occasional illustration and documents transports readers into Mildred and Richard Love's lives in this must-read, exceptional book based on their true story."-Imagination Soup
"Convincing portraits of Mildred and Richard Loving's courtship, marriage, troubles, trials and triumph."-The Charlotte Observer
"Convincing portraits of Mildred and Richard Loving's courtship, marriage, troubles, trials and triumph."-The Charlotte Observer
http://www.childrensliteratureassembly.org/notables.html
http://www.childrensliteratureassembly.org/notables.html
"Tells a quiet yet powerful story."-The Chicago Tribune
"Tells a quiet yet powerful story."-The Chicago Tribune
"Spellbinding free verse, illustrations, photos and more, it's a must for teens and adults alike."—Britt + Co.
"Spellbinding free verse, illustrations, photos and more, it's a must for teens and adults alike."—Britt + Co.
"Readers who enjoy history, art, love stories, and the fight for equal rights will enjoy this biographical fiction. The timing of the book is perfect."-VOYA: Voice of Youth Advocates
"Readers who enjoy history, art, love stories, and the fight for equal rights will enjoy this biographical fiction. The timing of the book is perfect."-VOYA: Voice of Youth Advocates
"A challenging, poignant read about an important civil rights case."-ForeWord Reviews
"A challenging, poignant read about an important civil rights case."-ForeWord Reviews
"A story that is personal, not just political." -The San Francisco Chronicle
"A story that is personal, not just political." -The San Francisco Chronicle
"Powerful and riveting."-Kirkus Reviews,starred review
"Powerful and riveting."-Kirkus Reviews,starred review
12/01/2016
Gr 8 Up—This title, depicting the individuals and events surrounding a watershed moment in U.S. civil rights history, is immediately relevant today. In 1950s Virginia, Richard Loving and Mildred Jeter fell in love and wanted to marry and raise their family where they were brought up. This was a problem: Loving was white, Jeter was considered "colored," and there was a law prohibiting interracial marriage. Still, the couple married in DC anyway, and after returning to Virginia, they served jail time. After years of separation and fighting the ruling, they connected with ACLU lawyers, and in 1967 their case was heard by the Supreme Court, which unanimously overturned the previous judgment against the Lovings in a landmark ruling. Written in free verse, this docu-novel alternates perspectives between Richard and Mildred. News clippings, maps, and archival photos add immediacy and context, as do Strickland's moving illustrations, in the style of "visual journalism," which she explains in an appended note. The volume also features a time line of relevant events and an appended summary of the Lovings' lives after the case. The bibliography displays the author's extensive research, which included interviews with those who were connected to the couple, and the free-verse style personalizes the historical events, which reach directly into today's headlines. No single book can tell the whole story, of course, and this offers a rich opportunity for students and adults to discuss urgent and perennial questions: In any retelling of history, what has been left out? Is every story an open subject for every author? VERDICT A natural addition to any school or public library. With the new film Loving and the upcoming 50th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court case, there will be increased attention on the Lovings' story.—Kristin Anderson, Bloomingdale Public Library, IL
★ 2016-10-19
A powerful and riveting account of an American couple in love when that love was ruled illegal in many American states.In the early 1950s a boy and a girl in rural Virginia fell in love and got married. Her family was "descended / from African slaves. / And their owners." He was white. Their love was scorned and against the law in their state. The couple, Mildred and Richard Loving, alternate and sometimes join together to tell their stories in beautifully rendered free verse. Love, children, marriage, jail, flight to Washington, D.C., long court battles, and final unanimous vindication in 1967 from the Warren Supreme Court fill the pages, detailing every particle of their strong feelings for each other and the equally strong bigotry of the local sheriff and state judicial system. Full-page photographs of school segregation and civil rights demonstrations clearly set the time frame. Excerpts from court decisions, period headlines, and quotations from Dr. King strengthen the learning curve for readers. Strickland's blue-, gray-, and yellow-toned illustrations have a strong retro feel and tenderly reinforce the written words. A song of love vs. a cacophony of hate—all in a beautiful model of bookmaking. (timeline, bibliography, credits and sources) (Historical verse fiction. 11-18)
